FAO official says he lost his job for criticising Israeli policies in Gaza
Summary
Ben Davis, a UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) director, said he lost his job after he spoke out against Israeli actions in Gaza. He was told his contract would not be renewed due to claims that he broke rules about being impartial, including organizing silent protests at the FAO office.Key Facts
- Ben Davis worked as Director of Rural Transformation and Gender Equality at the FAO.
- He was informed in July that his contract would not be renewed because of alleged breaches of impartiality rules.
- Davis organized weekly silent protests about starvation and famine in Gaza at the FAO headquarters in Rome.
- A report Davis helped write on food availability and humanitarian law in Gaza was ordered to be taken down.
- FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu said staff should not “play the game of human rights” within the organization and warned about firing staff who break rules.
- Davis believes the director-general’s public rebuke was directed at him for being “too political.”
- Hundreds of FAO employees initially joined the protests, but numbers have dropped to 30-40 people weekly.
- Since October 2023, over 74,000 people have died in Gaza due to the ongoing conflict, with more casualties after the 2025 ceasefire.
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